Jihadi Lone Wolf Mental Illnesses

"As part of our investigation into the homicide, we came across evidence that led us to believe there may be a terrorism-related offence."
"And that’s what’s brought us to today where the updated charge was laid in court this morning."
Toronto police spokesperson Meaghan Gray

Saad Akhtar has been charged with the terrorism-related murder of a 64-year-old Toronto woman. Family Handout

"[There were two reasons to apply the charge].One, signalling, and calling it what it is, if authorities think it’s terrorism. And two, it gets you from second degree murder to first-degree murder without having to prove that the murder was ‘planned and deliberate’."
"That in turn gets you a longer sentence in terms of the parole ineligibility going from 10 to 25 years, but still life in prison."
Michael Nesbitt, law professor, University of Calgary

64-year-old Hang-Kam “Annie” Chiu, the victim of a deadly hammer attack

In Toronto on Friday evening, 64-year-old Hang-Kam Annie Chiu happened to be strolling along Sheppard Avenue in the north-east end of the city. She was accosted by 30-year-old Saad Akhtar wielding a hammer with malice aforethought, killing the woman who was, according to the murderer's mother, unknown to both him and his family. He had chosen her to die at his hands.

According to the Toronto Police Service, Akhtar voluntarily turned himself in to police who charged him with first-degree murder. And then new information came to light which led to an updated charge, that of first-degree murder including terrorist activity. Upon discovering new evidence the Toronto police had turned to the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team -- an RCMP team specializing in terrorism cases -- for advice, and this presumably was the outcome.

A note was evidently discovered tucked under the slain woman's body, revealing that the murder, albeit random and puzzling in nature, had been committed in the fulfillment of 'terrorist reasons'. In a later interview after the arrest of the obvious Islamist jihadist, his mother revealed that her son had been studying computer programming at Ryerson University, that the woman he killed was a stranger to him, and that her son suffered from a mental illness. Diagnosed with ADHD and obsessive -compulsive disorder.

He was not, she emphasized, capable of a violent act such as he has been charged with. A trial and jury will most certainly reach their own conclusions on the evidence which will exclude a mother's trust in a son she described as troubled but refusing help. His usual Friday evening mosque attendance last week did not see him returning home immediately afterward. Instead, he had decided to fulfill a mission incumbent on the faithful in Islam; personal jihad.

Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

Society hosts an awful lot of people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures diagnosed with ADHD, who somehow learn to lead fairly normal lives. Many people suffer from many types of 'abnormal' mental states to which they learn to adjust their lives; among them people with obsessive personalities, those whose compulsive passions would never lead to violence, much less plotting to murder perfect strangers leaving explanatory notes behind.

A flower memorial where Hang-Kam “Annie” Chiu was murdered

Clearly, though purportedly mentally unstable, he had no wish to become a martyr to claim his reward in Paradise. Under the Canadian Criminal Code, a suspect can face charges of first-degree murder irrespective of whether the killing was 'planned and deliberate' as long as it resulted from an offence considered to represent a terrorist action. A first-degree murder charge merits a longer prison sentence. Parole eligibility is ten years for second-degree murder; 25 years under a first-degree charge if found guilty.

"On behalf of the RCMP, I would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to the victim's family and to the communities that are affected by this horrific event."
Superintendent Christopher deGale, O Division, RCMP 

How strange it is that whenever an Islamist jihadist works themselves into a religious frenzy of hatred against those Islam considers enemies within Western society deserving of death, and executes a personal plan with or without like-minded accomplices, friends and family come forward to attest to the attacker's character, that such a diabolical act of deliberate violence ending the life of some poor innocent does not reflect who the killer really is. That in fact, a mental state is responsible for the crime, and as such appealing for sympathy, not condemnation.



 

Carrying On

"His age is surprising as most terrorists are radicalized at a much younger age. It would be my assessment that he has probably had quite a troubled past, with involvement in drink or drugs leading him into criminality."
"Then at some point, possibly in the last decade, he has converted to Islam and changed his name."
"Then it appears that he has fallen under the malign influence of others who have encouraged or persuaded him to carry out this attack, possibly for money for his family."
David Videcette, (former) Scotland Yard counter-terrorism officer, security expert

Vigil in Trafalgar Square to remember the victims of the Westminster Terror attack. Credit Ben Cawthra/LNP

Strange how readily semi-exonerating reasons can be advanced by those in the field of security and intelligence in assessing the behaviours and intentions of religiously-driven psychopaths. It is as though to even conceive of odious acts of vicious terrorism must have a basis in the pathology of victimhood somewhere back in the perpetrator's history. Not precisely exculpatory, but vaguely sympathetic, understanding, as though to say, yes he committed an atrocity but circumstances drove him to it.

The circumstances of hatred of absolute misanthropy leavened with the yeast of a religious dedication to conquest, a religion jealous of its status on a global scale of influence and following, restive at number two on the theological hit parade, aspiring by all and any conceivable -- and many none too conceivable but undertaken with purpose regardless -- to wrest top spot from the reigning world religion in scope and popularity. After all, is there any other world religion that can boast having complete control over all aspects of followers' lives?

A religion whose scriptures narrated by god himself to the Prophet Mohammad teaches the faithful in Islam to hate, to aspire to slaughter non-believers because they are less than human and the world has only enough space for faithful Muslims. A recent video of impromptu interviews with pedestrians in a popular Turkish shopping zone featured an interviewer with a succession of men, all of whom when asked their opinion of non-Muslims commented they should be slaughtered for the sin of atheism, they are not human, but living scum. And this is a country linking Europe to the Middle East. (via @OnlineMagazin).

The now-dead London jihadist attacker Khalid Masood had a reputation of "violent extremism", according to British police, but he was not on their intelligence radar as an Islamist fanatic until he rampaged in a vehicle at 80 kilometres an hour along Westminster Bridge in London, killing three pedestrians, and then knifing to death a British police officer who was guarding the Houses of Parliament. A fitness buff, he was no doubt in good physical shape to manage the feat that locked down Parliament.

Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood has been called a hero as he tried to save the life of the policeman stabbed in the terror attack. Credit Stefan Rousseau, PA

He had a number of convictions to his criminal discredit beginning at age 18, a social misfit who went on to commit a variety of criminal acts over the decades. Authorities believe that his 'radicalization' into fundamentalist Islam took place during his many incarcerations. And he was known to live with his wife and young children in areas well known as representing  Islamist extremism.  There is no shortage of testimonials from neighbours who viewed him as 'normal', however.

"He was always polite and would say 'hello, hello' to me. You could tell they were religious, his wife always wore traditional dress. I last saw them just over a month ago. They had three children", said Kaodi Campbell, 25. A neighbour in Luton saw him only at night: "He was like a shadow, you wouldn't often see him. He was often in Islamic dress, black clothes with a hat", described Monica. And that's fairly typical for comments made by people of those who have committed odious acts; they were 'nice', they were 'normal'. He was 'polite, shy', said neighbour Katie Garriques.

And his association with Anjem Choudary, finally imprisoned for terror offences, a despicable Islamist preacher promising that the final Islamification of Britain was not long in the future, influential among his large following, marked him out as just another Islamist among many.  It makes some kind of grim sense that he was shot three times in the chest at close range by a bodyguard of the British minister of defence, as Masood was in the process of killing a police officer.

The United Kingdom is infused with a large Muslim immigrant population. Its largest, most populous city has a Muslim mayor. MI5 speaks of no fewer than ten thousand identified radical Islamists under suspicion, but not under surveillance, because no police or secret service or intelligence agency, or all combined with a common purpose to protect the common weal, has the infinite resources it would take to surveil them all. Masood was "known to MI5", and there the story stalled.

So, Britain, like Belgium, like Holland, like France, like Germany, trudges on. The modus operandi is an extremely popular one with Islamist terrorists; from the streets of Jerusalem to Germany and France, driving a vehicle with the intention of committing multiple homicides has succeeded and is incited by ISIL. The use of knives is hugely popular among Muslims wishing to inspire terror in others while committing themselves to violent murder against the unsuspecting.

The successful operation that just concluded on the Westminster Bridge and the corridors of British political power will inspire others to achieve similar fame.  Canada too had a taste of vehicular homicide in the death of Warrant Office Patrice Vincent, mowed down by another Muslim convert who then attacked police with a knife before being shot dead.  Another Islamist extremist shot dead Cpl.Nathan Cirillo, on duty at the National Cenotaph, then went on to storm Parliament before he too was shot dead, but not before locking down the Parliamentary Precinct and central Ottawa.

Parliament Hill shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau is shown here in a Twitter photo posted by @ArmedResearch. The RCMP has released the full, unedited version of his cellphone manifesto.  (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Their successes inspire others to emulate their attacks in the hopes that they too will become celebrated martyrs whose names will be inscribed in blood and fame in the annals of Islamist jihad, entitling them to direct entry to Paradise with all the attendant entitlements awaiting their arrival. A French Islamist drove a vehicle through a busy Antwerp shopping area Thursday, but his exploit was foiled as pedestrians, more accustomed in Belgium than elsewhere to dodge this type of threat leaped to safety.

And the man, identified as 39-year-old Mohamed R., was intercepted and arrested, French President Francois Hollande remarking on its coincidence with Wednesday's attack in London, commenting that the French citizen was "trying to kill people or create a dramatic event"; an amazing leap of intuition, or perhaps even a logical deduction....

Islamic State Virtual Coaches for "Lone Wolf" Attacks

"They are virtual coaches who are providing guidance and encouragement throughout the process."
"If you look at the communications between the attackers and the virtual plotters, you will see that there is a direct line of communication to the point where they are egging them on minutes, even seconds, before the individual carries out an attack."
Nathaniel Barr, analyst, Valens Global, counterterrorism consultants

ISIS terror manual showed lone-wolf jihadis how to use lorries as weapons to “crush many victims” in Berlin and Nice-style attacks  SITE

"Race a car into the gatherings and meetings of the unbelievers."
"Get out of your car and, God-willing, you will go to paradise. Run over the unbelievers, it's the simplest method to kill them as shown by the Nice effect."
"Brothers, surrender lots of the unbelievers and Allah will show you mercy for killing so many of them."
"A single brother with only one car rented from the unbelievers killed over 90 dirty unbelievers in Nice - when will the German Nice finally come?"Islamic State on-line "Lone Wolf" manual of jihad

Before Islamic State saw itself being challenged on the turf it had established for itself in Iraq and Syria for its caliphate, which it was steadily growing as it conquered one city, one town, one village after another until it had carved out an impressively wide swath of both countries for itself, its celebrated atrocities proudly featured on their various public relations sites were accomplished by themselves alone. Those accomplishments were what attracted new recruits, drawn to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as soldiers of Islam.

Islamic State is now finding itself constrained in its ambitions. It is finally being challenged and facing opponents less likely to turn and scatter in fear of the terrorists' fearsome reputation for barbarity. Although theirs is a well-earned reputation, in actual fact it hardly represents a list of ghastly offences against humanity that the Baathist Alawite regime of Bashar al-Assad of Syria has not itself visited on its own Syrian Sunni subjects.

The Turkey-maligned Kurds in Syria and Iraq are proving their mettle as fighters, however. Trained in updated strategic warfare practices against such an enemy by NATO forces, and with the aerial bombing backup of U.S.-aligned-and-led groups, Islamic State is finding its territory shrinking as towns and cities are being freed of their jihadist grip, and in the process they are losing their jihadi fighters as combat casualties and deserters.

To compensate and continue their threats against the West, they have altered course, no longer sending conflict-trained recruits from training camps in Syria and Iraq to the West, but stepping up their social media contacts to stimulate, incite and encourage Islamists living in non-Muslim countries to adapt their jihadi skills to 'lone wolf' terrorist attacks. These loners who appeared to be operating on their own recognizance have puzzled government agencies.

But investigations have revealed that those terrorists initially labeled as loners are actually Islamists who have been recruited to specific attacks, designed and promoted by Islamic State, which also arranges in many instances, to provide the nascent attackers with the arms and explosives they would need to carry out their scheduled attacks. This new strategy on the part of ISIS has enabled it to stretch its presence by proxy into France and Malaysia, Germany, and Indonesia, Bangladesh and Australia, Canada and the United States.

Since travel to Syria has become more difficult to achieve, Intelligence services have learned to identify aspiring jihadists and as they are identified and their plots unveiled and followed, arresting dozens of aspirants in preparation for their Islamic State-designed attacks. One such recruiter and virtual plotter was known as Abu Issa al-Amriki whom recruits contacted through encrypted messaging app Telegram.

Amriki was one among a dozen cyberplanners in Syria or Iraq actively recruiting volunteer jihadis abroad, identified by investigative research in North America, Europe and Asia. In 2015 they were viewed as a looming threat and identified as such by the U.S. and Great Britain who were tracking their methods and concurrently attacking them with airstrikes with the intention of putting them out of business.

Amriki was hit and killed when a bomb flattened his Al Bab, Syria apartment, killing his wife as well. It had been determined by the United States Department of Defense that Amriki had been planning attacks on three continents; grooming attackers in Canada and Britain and across America. One of whom was a former member of the Army National Guard in Virginia, a warehouse worker from Columbus, Ohio, and a 24-year-old in Rochester, New York.

It is thought the ‘Terror Tactics’ manual may have inspired the Berlin Christmas market attack.  EPA